Christmas tree stand



July 17, 1956 J. R. FORD CHRISTMAS TREE STAND Filed April 20, 1954 John Robert Ford 20 INVENTOR.

United States Patent CHRISTMAS TREE STAND John Robert Ford, Fort Collins, Colo.

Application April 20, 1954, Serial No. 424,442

2 Claims. (Cl. 248-47) The present invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in a Christmas tree stand of a tripodal type and which is, therefore, characterized by several leg members which, when in use, are in circumferentially spaced relationship.

Briefly summarized, a preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a plurality of substantially V-shaped units, each having a horizontal limb and an upwardly and inwardly inclining limb terminating in a V-shaped crotch and providing pointed prongs which are engageable with the tree trunk, said inclining limb being flexibly resilient, the junctural portion between said limbs being in the form of an offset V-bend functioning as a floor engaging foot, the inner ends of the horizontal limbs of the respective units being overlapped and having alined bolt holes, a water pan having a fiat bottom with a centered bolt registering with the first named bolt holes, a single bolt passing upwardly through the several bolt holes and having a pointed upper end located in said pan, and a nut carried by said pointed upper end and serving to assemble said units and pan.

It is an object of the invention to structurally, functionally, and otherwise improve upon similarly constructed and performing tripodal tree stands, and in pursuing this aim, to thus provide a simple, practicable, and eflicient stand construction which is destined to meet with the approval of prospective manufacturers and users in general.

Another object of the invention is to provide a stand construction along the above described lines wherein the V-shaped leg units or frames are formed from appropriate strap metal, the horizontal limbs radiating from a common assembling and pivoting bolt joined to the central bottom portion of the pan whereby it is possible to arrange the units, by simple adjustment thereof, to assume positions wherein they adequately support the tree in an erect position, it being possible to attain this end by skipping some of the low limbs and obviating the necessity of removing the limbs in such instances as they appear in places or positions which assist in adding fullness to the lower portion of the Christmas tree.

More importantly, novelty is predicated on the specific construction of each V-shaped unit or frame in that each unit embodies a horizontal limb with a bolt hole at one end, an upwardly and inwardly inclined limb, the latter limb being resilient, the adjacent ends of said limbs being connected by way of a V-bend defining a foot, said inclined limb having an elongate slot spaced downwardly from the upper end, a rigid linearly straight rod fixedly joined at its lower end to an intermediate portion of the horizontal limb and having its upper end screw threaded and extending upwardly through and beyond said slot, a nut adjustably mounted on said upper screw-threaded end, a sleeve encircling the latter end and located between said nut and slotted portion of said inclining limb.

Other objects, features, and advantages will become more readily apparent from the following description and the accompanying sheet of illustrative drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of a Christmas tree holder or stand constructed in accordance with the principles of the invention and showing the same set-up for use and illustrating the details and structural arrangement and relationship;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary view in section and elevation which brings out the essential details and particularly the specific construction of one of the V-shaped leg units; and

Figure 3 is a section of an enlarged scale on the horizontal line 3-3 of Figure 2 looking in the direction of the arrows.

Referring now to the drawings with the aid of reference numerals and accompanying lead lines and with the lead lines pointing to corresponding parts throughout the several views, it will be seen that the pan which receives the trunk A of the Christmas tree is denoted by the numeral 4. This is a suitable pan of appropriate capacity and adapted to contain water, the same having a fiat bottom fixed and an appropriate upstanding rim 8. There is a bolt hole in the center of the bottom which serves a purpose to be later described.

Associated with the pan are the V-shaped leg units or frames. These are denoted by the numerals 10. Each unit is the same in construction and, therefore, the description of one will suflice for all. With this in mind, it will be seen that each unit is preferably formed from strap metal of appropriate strength which is bent between its ends and which, therefore, defines and provides the aforementioned horizontal limb which is provided at the lefthand end in Figure 2, that is the end 14 with a bolt hole. The upwardly and inwardly inclined complemental limb is denoted by the numeral 16. There is a slight offsetting bend at 18 and the junctural bend between the limbs is denoted at 20 and, this being suitably ofifset, provides a floor engaging foot. The extreme upper end of the limb 16 has a V-shaped crotch 22 therein defining a pair of pointed prongs 24 which are adapted to straddle and embed themselves in the trunk of the tree in the manner shown. On a portion spaced downwardly of the crotch, the limb 16 has an elongate slot 26. There is a bracing and clamping rod provided and this is denoted by the numeral 28 and it is linearly straight and rigid. It has a lower screw-threaded end 30 passing through an opening in the limb 12 and anchored and held in place by assembling and retaining nuts 32 and 34 above and below the limb as shown in section in Figure 2. There is a screwthreaded portion 36 at the upper end of the rod and this extends through and beyond the slot 26. On the upper end there is a wing nut 38 which engages With the adjacent end of a spacing and binding sleeve 40. The sleeve surrounds the threaded portion of the bolt and is interposed between the limb and the wing nut. The lower end is beveled as at 42 to cooperate with the inclining surface of the inclined limb 16. The limb 16 is of appropriate resiliency so that it yields to accommodate tree trunks of diflferent diameters and to permit the inherent tension to bindingly clamp the limb against the tree trunk when the nut 38 is tightened against the upper end of the thrust sleeve 40. These several leg units or frames are joined by a common bolt 44 to the bottom 6 of the pan. In doing so the inner bolt-hole equipped ends of the respective limbs 12-12 overlap so that the bolt holes align with each other allowing the bolt to pass therethrough. The upper end of the bolt is pointed as at 46 and it passes through the bolt hole in the bottom of the pan. The principal assembling and retaining nut is at 48 and is accessible for tightening the bolt. The numerals 50 and 52 designate the washers which may, if desired, be used to render the pan substantially leak-proof around the bolt hole. With this construction it will be seen that the overall design is one which permits the leg units to be 2,755,050 Patented July 17, 1956 folded into close relationship (not shown) or completely disassembled so that the device'may be dismantled and compactly stored away in limited space when not needed. The principal purpose, however, is to have the bolt and nut means adjustably join the inner ends of the respective limbs 1212 to the bottom of the pan so that the unit 10 may be rotated in relation to each other to permit the upper forked or pronged ends to be arranged advantageously in relation to jutting limbs and to obviate the necessity of removing the limbs if their presence on the tree is thought to be needed or desirable. In any event, the over-all stand is well balanced in design and is effective in appearance, it is stablefsimple, and practical. It is such that its construction will meet with the ordinary requirements of manufacturers and will effectually serve the needs of users.

It is recognized that the art to which the invention relates discloses tripodal stand constructions including an associatedpan. In these circumstances it is evident that the novelty has to do with the construction which is the essential improvement means and that is the substantially V-shaped leg unit or frame 10 with its offset foot 20 and with its essentially rigid horizontal limb 12 and inclining resilient limb 16 and the rod and lift means 28, 38 and 40 which, cooperating with the slot 26 makes it possible to either press or bend the limb 16 down, or to allow it to yield upwardly so that when the several units 10 are combined, an effective brace and balanced support action for the tree is assured.

From the foregoing, the construction and operation of the device will be readily understood and further explanation is believed to be unnecessary. However, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction shown and described, and accordingly all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the appended claims.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A Christmas tree stand of tripodal type comprising a plurality of individual substantially V-shaped units, each unit embodying a horizontal limb and an upwardly and inwardlyinelining complemental limb terminating at its upper end in a V-shaped crotch and providing pointed prongs which are engageable with the tree trunk, said inclining limb being flexibly resilient, the junctional portion between said limbs being in the form of a downwardly olfset V-bend functioning as a floor engaging foot, the inner ends of the respective horizontal limbs of the respective units being overlapped and having aligned bolt holes, a water pan having a fiat bottom with a centered bolt hole registering with the first named bolt holes, a single bolt passing upwardly through the several bolt holes and having a pointed upper end located in said pan, a nut carried by said pointed upper end and serving to assemble said units and pan, a rod joined at its lower end to an intermediate portion of at least one of said horizontal limbs, the upper end of said rod being screw-threaded and extending upwardly through an elongated slot in the complemental inclining limb, a nut adjustably mounted on said upper screw-threaded end, and a sleeve encircling said upper screw-threaded end and located between said nut and slotted portion of said inclining limb, the lower end of said sleeve resting upon said latter limb.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 and wherein said rod is perpendicular to said horizontal limb, the upper end of said sleeve being fiat and in a horizontal plane and the lower end of the sleeve being oblique-angled and the inclination thereof corresponding to the inclination of said inclined limb.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,110,142 Piner Sept. 8, 1914 1,397,254 Karschitz Nov. 5, 1921 1,457,820 Cleveland June 5, 1923 2,561,693 Frye July 24, 1951 2,625,352 Sykes et al. Jan. 13, 1953 FOREIGN PATENTS 182,047 Canada Feb. 5, 1918 

